Slide feeding apparatus

ABSTRACT

A slide feeding member is mounted for reciprocating movement along a raised ledge to push a bottommost slide of a stack of slides resting on said ledge onto a slide receiving track therebelow, the slide feeding member having a slide engaging portion for engaging the rear edge of a slide to push the same off the ledge, and a catcher lip-forming portion below and immediately in front of the slide engaging portion for supporting a slide pushed off the ledge and leaving contact with said slide engaging portion, so the slide continues to be moved forwardly after clearing the ledge.

United States Patent Edward J. Michniewicz Niles, lll.

Feb. 16, 1970 Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 660,737, Aug. 15, 1967, Pat. No. 3,495,902.

Aug. 17, 1971 Argus Incorporated Chicago, Ill.

Inventor Appl. No. Filed Patented Assignee SLIDE FEEDING APPARATUS 3 Claims, 10 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl. 353/112 Int. Cl. i G03b 23/02 Field of Search 1353/] l l,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,363,820 11/1944 Warriner 353/112 3,308,718 3/1967 Antos 353/112 Primary Examiner-Harry N. Haroian Attorney-Wallenstein, Spangcnberg, Hattis and Strampel to he moved forwardly after clearing the ledge.

PATENTEU AUG] 7 |97l SHEET M 0F 4 SLIDE FEEDING APPARATUS This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 660,737, filed Aug. 15, 1967, now US. Pat. No. 3,495,902.

This invention is an improvement over the slide feeding apparatus disclosed in my US. Pat. No. 3,485,558 granted Dec. 23, 1969 wherein there is disclosed apparatus for intermittently feeding slides, such as photographic transparency slides, one at a time, from a vertical stack of slides to a position on a slide-receiving track extending froma slide-receiving station next to the stack in a direction at right angles to the direction the slides are fed from the stack. The rear end portion of the stack is supported on a generally horizontally extending ledge and the front end portion of the stack is supported upon the front portion of a rearwardly and downwardly inclining slide support surface constituting'one end of said track in front of the ledge, the rear end of the slide support surface being offset from and below the ledge. A generally horizontally extending slide feeding member is provided having a slide engaging portion with a thickness no greater than the thinnest slide in the stack. The slide feeding member engages the rear edge of the bottom slide in the stack and pushes the same off the ledge where it can lie in face-to-face relation upon the rearwardly and downwardly inclining slide support surface. A slide abutment means is provided which confronts the front portion of the slide support surface so that the bottom slide in the sack which is moved beyond the ledge slides beneath the slide abutment means which is resiliently urged toward the slide support surface. The slide abutment means acts as an abutment shoulder for the slider above the bottom slide to prevent the Same from moving with the bottom slide to a point where it clears the ledge. The slide abutment means most advantageously'comprises spherical balls which have a radius which is greater than thethickest slide in the stack of slides. The special balls preferably are mounted for movement away from the slide support surface in a direction inclining forwardly and upwardly with respect to a plane transverse to the slide support surface. The slide track preferably comprises, in addition to the slide support surface referred to, a guide or abutment shoulder which extends transversely upwardly from the rear of the slide track. The guide shoulder guides the movement of the slides to the projection station in a manner to be described.

The slide feeding member, most advantageously has a depending portion or edge 45 which engages the rear edge of the slide and pushes the same fully beneath the slide abutment means which is preferably the spherical balls referred to. This depending portion or edge of the slide feeding member must maintain contact with the rear edge of the slide for a short interval of time after the slide has cleared the end of the ledge so the slide is pushed fully beneath the abutment means where the rear end portion of the slide can fall upon the slide-receiving track. Except for relatively heavy slides, this presents no problem because the slide will usually become wedged between the depending portion of the slide feeding member and the bottom of the means spherical balls until'the slide feeding member begins its reverse movement to return to its initial position. However, when the slides in the stack are relatively heavy slides, such as glass mounted plastic slides, the slide pushed by the slide feeding member beyond the ledge can immediately drop from the depending portion or edge of the slide feeding member pushing the same. In such case, the rear end portion of the slide instead of falling upon the slidereceiving track, drops and catches on the aforementioned guide or abutment shoulder. This prevents a proper feeding of the slide to the slide projecting station, and causes jamming of slides subsequent fed from the stack of slides.

In accordance with the present invention, to prevent the dropping of the r rear end portion of a slide from the slide feeding member as the slide is pushed off the ledge, a catcher lip is provided which extends from the slide feeding member forwardly and below the depending portion or edge thereof which pushes the slide off the ledge, so as to form a carrying shoulder for the slide until the slide is fully positioned beneath the abutment means. The catcher lip is joinedto the slide feeding member by a vertically extending wall which-contacts and pushes the slide forwardly when the slide has dropped upon the catcher lip. Thus, a slide of any weight will remain with the slide feeding member until the latter is partially returned to its initially starting position. For a better understanding of the present invention reference should now be made to the specification to follow, the claims and the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a photographic slide projec tor incorporating the features of the present invention:

FIG. 2 is an end elevational view of the projector of FIG. 1, partly broken away;

FIG. 3 is a bottom perspective view of a slide stack-receiw,

ing cover for the housing of the projector shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the upper portion of the housing body upon which the slide stack-receiving cover of FIG. 3 is mounted;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of the portion of the projector housing including the slide stack-receiving cover of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the slide feeding and transporting apparatus located below or within the slide stackreceiving cover;

FIG. 6A is a view of a slotted portion of the rear wall of the projector housing; and

FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 are enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional views of that part of the projector shown in FIG. 5, illustrating the manner in which the slides are fed from the bottom of a stack of slides onto the slide track in preparation for transport to the slide projection station.

Refer more particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, which illustrate a photographic slide projector generally indicated by reference numeral 1. The projector illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 is designed for maximum compactness and minimum cost consistent with high quality projection and reliability in operation. As will appear, the projector is designed to operate reliably with slides of widely varying thickness or with slides which are warped. v

The projector 1 has a housing 2 which may be made of a number of different sections of molded synthetic plastic material. The various sections of the housing shown in FIG. 1 includes a main housing body 2a which houses most of the components of the projector, an open bottom rectangular cover 2b which houses the projection lamp 4 and various lens elements 6 for projecting light through a slide 8 at a slide projection station 7 on the housing body 2a and a slide stackreceiving cover 2c which, in the illustrated form of the invention, includes as an integrally molded part thereof an open ended stack loader 10 in which a vertical stack 11 of slides 8 are placed. (If desired, the stack loader 10 could be eliminated and the projector 1 could be designed to receive cassettes in the manner described in my copending application Ser. No. 660,737.) The particular manner in which the various sections of the projector housing 2 fit together forms no part of the present invention and the details of the housing 2 will not be described except where necessary to explain the features of the exemplary form of the invention. I

In a manner to be described, the slides are fed one at a time in a forward direction from the bottom of the stack loader 10 upon a slider track 12 which extends in a lateral direction (a direction which is transverse of the direction in which the slides are moved onto the track) between a slide-receiving station at one end of the track below the bottom of the stack 11 to the slide projection station 7 at the other end of the track. The track 12 has a slide support surface 12a which is generally in a horizontal plane, that is a plane which is more nearly horizontal than vertical. Just beyond the slide projection station 7 is a discharge station comprising an open top slide stacking chute 19 into which the slides drop after they are moved from the projection station 7.

The light from the lamp 4 shines through the lens elements 6 and the slide 8 at the projection station 7 and then is reflected off an inclined mirror 21 into a focusing lens unit 23 whose axis extends forwardly of the slide projector housing 2.

The housing cover 20 has an upper wall 24 (FIGS. 3 and whichis in spaced relation to the wall 26 of the housing body 2a to form a compartment 27 in which is reciprocally mounted a slide feeding member 29 is most advantageously a stamped sheet metal member slide feeding member preferably like that shown'in FIG. 6. The slide feeding member the're shown has a large opening 31 in the center thereof through which the stack 11 of the slide 8 extends. The illustrated slide feeding member has a generally horizontally extending rear end portion 29a which is slidably disposed upon a raised rear portion 26a of the top wall 26 of the housing body 2a which forms a ledge elevated above the rear end of the slide track 12. The rear portions 29a of the slide feeding member 29 has an opening 33 therein into which extends a leaf spring 35 (FIGS. 5 and 6) anchored to a mounting plate 36 anchored in a suitable way to the walls of the housing body 2a. The leaf spring 35 urges the slide feeding member 29 into an extreme rear position shown in FIGS. 5 and 7.

The rear end position 290 of the slide feeding member 29 is connected by the inclined portions 37-37 to elevated forwardly extending side legs 39-39 which terminate in a depending flange 40 extending between the front ends of the legs 39-39. The flange 40 depends through an opening 42 (FIGS. 4 and 5) in the top wall 26 of the housing body 2a into a main compartment 44. The aforementioned mounting plate 36 forms a bottom partitioned wall for the compartment 44 in which most of the projector operating mechanism to be described is located.

The rear end portion 29a of the slide feeding member 29 has a forwardly facing slide engaging edge 45 which moves in the plane of the bottommost slide in the stack loader which has a thickness equal to or less than the thickness ofthe thinnest slide to be placed in the projector. The raised rear portion 26a of the projector housing body forms a ledge which supports the rear end portion of the vertical stack 11 of slides in the stack loader 10. The ledge-form portions has a centered opening 47 of a width less than the width of a slide which provides clearance for the movement of a catcher lip-forming angle member 48 extending from the bottom of the slide feeding member. The catcher lip-forming angle member 48 shown in the drawings has a horizontally extending lip 48a extending forwardly of and below the slide engaging edge 45 of the slide feeding member, a vertical wall portion 48b in alignment with theedge 45 and extending upwardly from the catcher lip 48a and a securing flange portion 48c secured to the bottom of the rear and portion of the slide feeding member 29. (It is apparent that the catcher lip-forming angle member 48 can be replaced by a catcher lip and vertical wall portion forming an integral part or extension of the slide feeding member, in which event the lip and wall portion 18a and 48b could be stamped and bent extensions of a metal stamping forming the slide feeding member.) The slide support surface 12a of the slide track preferably inclines slightly rearwardly and downwardly, and the rear end thereof is at an elevation below the front of the ledge 26a as best shown in FIG. 5. The slide support surface 120 may be interrupted by a number of indentations such as 12b and 12c best shown in FIGS. 7-9 into which the downwardly extending portions of a warped slide can extend.

The front end portion of the stack 11 of slides 8 rests upon the front portion of the slide support surface 12a. When the slide feeding member 29 is moved forwardly in a manner to be explained, when the slide engaging edge 45 of the slide feeding member 29 moves just beyond the front end of the ledge 26a if the slide should fall it will drop into the catcher lip 48a where the vertical wall portion 48b will continue to push the slide until it is in a forwardmost position beneath a pair of spherical balls 51a-5la-51a (FIGS. 6-9) where it can drop fully upon the track slide support surface 12a where it clears a guide shoulder 50 at the rear of the track l2.

The slide feeding member 29 has depending from at least one of the side legs 39 thereof of a slide engaging ear 41 which has a rearwardly facing surface 41a which extends at right angles to the slide support surface 12a and parallel to the guide shoulder 50 at the rear of the slide track 12. In the absence of any forward pulling force on the slide feeding member 29, the rearwardly facing surface 41a of the slide engaging car 41 will urge a slide pushed fully beneath the balls 51a-5la against the guide shoulder 50 and guide its movement toward the slide projection station 7 in a manner to be explained.

The slide above the bottommost slide in the stack 11 may possibly move for a distance with the bottom slide because of friction between the contacting faces of the slides, but the movement is limited so the slide cannot be pushed off the ledge 26:: by slide abutment means 51 preferably formed, in part, by the spherical balls 5141-5 la. The spherical balls 51a-51 have a radius greater than the thickness of the thickest slides to be fed through the projector and are mounted in spaced relation along the forward margin of the slide track 12 so as to engage the opposite forward margin of the slide track 12 so as to engage the opposite forward end portion of the slide 8 as the rear end thereof is moved off the ledge 26a by the slide engaging edge 45 of the slide feeding member 29 upon the slide track 12. The front sides of the balls 51a-5l are confined by rear surfaces 52-52 formed on the rear sides of the bosses 54-54 preferably molded integrally with the top wall 26 of the projector housing body 2a. The rear surfaces 52-52 preferably incline upwardly and outwardly away from a plane transverse to the slide transport surface 12a. The balls 51a 51a are confined against rearward and lateral movement when the balls are in their bottommost position by ball enclosure housings 53-53 which are most advantageously molded integrally with the slide stack-receiving cover 2c as best shown in FIGS. 3 and 12. The halls 5la-5la are urged downwardly in the directions of the guide surface 52-52 by leaf springs 55-55 which are anchored on the top wall 26, of the housing body 2a. Each leaf spring 55 has a ball engaging end portion 55a which exerts the aforementioned downward force on the associated ball 51a a component transverse to the slide support surface 12a and parallel thereto.

When the slide engaging edge 45 of the slide feeding member 29 is moved forwardly, the force of the slide feeding member will be applied directly only to the bottommost slide, so that this slide is readily pushed beneath the resiliently downwardly urged balls 51a-51a. The slide will normally remain in contact with the edge 45 even after the edge 45 moves beyond the ledge 26a because the slide will be wedged between the edge 45 and the balls 51a-51a. However, as above indicated, if the weight of the slide or the force thereon causes the slide to drop from the edge 45 as the latter moves beyond the ledge 26a, it will drop on the catcher lip 48a and will be pushed forwardly by the vertical wall portion 4812. Any slide above the bottom slide in the stack which tends to move with the bottom slide as the latter is pushed by the slide feeding member 29 will abut against the bottom half of the balls 5la-51 before it clears the ledge 26a, and will be held against movement beneath the balls because of the opposition thereto by the spring urged balls. The springs 55-55 acting on the balls 51a-51a react upon a slide above the bottommost slide pushed thereagainst by kicking the same rearwardly back into a position where it is in alignment with the rest of the slides in the stack 11. Thus, as a slide 8a is positioned on the track 12, the slide first pushes the balls forwardly and raise the same. When the slide is almost completely beneath the stack, the springs will force the balls rearwardly over the slide 8a and, in so doing, will kick the next slide 811 fully back into the stack if the latter slide 8b had moved with the bottommost slide 8a. For very thick slides like 8a, the balls must engage the rear boss surfaces 52-52 before the springs can push the balls over the slide involved.

A slide transport member comprising an elongated arm 60 (FIGS. 5-6) is pivotally mounted within the projector housing compartment 44 upon the mounting plate 36. The slide transport arm 60 has a slide engaging pin 62 which projects upwardly through an arcuate slot 64 in the top wall 26 of the housing 2a which slot falls along a circle concentric with the pivot axis of the arm 60. The slide transport arm 60 preferably moves in a plane parallel and contiguous to the top wall 26 of the housing body 2a, and has, in addition to the slide engaging pin 62, a short upwardly extending pin 63 which moves within an undercut slot 65 formed in the bottom surface of the housing body top wall 26. The slide transport arm 60 additionally has adjacent its free end a downwardly extending flange 66 which is adapted to be engaged by anupwardly extending drive pin 73 on the end of a crank arm 72 attached to a drive shaft 74 projecting from a motor housing 76 carried on the mounting plate 36.

The slide transport arm 60 is normally urged in a clockwise direction to an extreme inoperative position by a suitable spring 75 mounted between a lug 77 on the mounting plate 36 and an extension 78 on the base of the slide transport arm 60. In this extreme position of the slide transport arm 60, the pin 62 thereof is at one end of the slide-receiving station where it is in position to engage the edge of a slide moved off of the ledge 26a onto the track 12. The drive pin 73 on the crank arm 72 during a part of its revolution will engage the depending flange 66 of the slide transport arm 60 and move the same in a counterclockwise direction to carry the pin 62 to a position opposite the slide transport station. In the course of the movement of the slide transport arm, the pin 62 passes beneath the slides 8 in the stack 11 and engages the edge of any slide pushed off the ledge onto the slide track 12. The drive pin 73 looses contact with the depending flange 66 of the slide transport arm when the pin is opposite the slide projection station 7 and the spring 75 then returns quickly the slide transport arm to its initial extreme inoperative position.

The motor housing 76 contains a suitable electrical motor which is energized by current delivered through a power cord 79 (FIG. l) and an on-off switch controlled by a knob 82 (FIG. l) on the outside of the projector housing. The motor housing 76 includes a suitable slip clutch of any well-known construction connected between the shaft of the motor (not shown) and the drive shaft 14, so that the crank arm 72 may be held stationary while the motor shaft continues to rotate. The motor housing 76 also contains a suitable gear train for slowing down the speed of rotation of the crank arm 72 so that it takes a number of seconds for the crank arm 72 to complete a revolution so a slide will be in view for a number of seconds before a slide changing operation.

When it is desired to disable an-automatic slide feeding operation so the viewer may view a slide as long as he' desires, a stop member 80 (FIGS. 6, and 6A) is moved into the path of travel of the crank arm 72 to stop the same. The stop member 80 illustrated in the drawings comprises an arm 80a pivotally mounted at 82 intermediate its ends upon the mounting plate 36. A spring 84 (FIG. 6) extending between the mounting plate 36 and a point on the arm 80a normally pivots the arm 80a to a position where an upturned end 80b of the arm is in the path of movement of the crank arm 72. The arm 80a has a rearwardly extending handle-forming portion 800 projecting through a horizontally elongated slot 86 in the rear wall of the housing body 2a. A handle member 88 is mounted on the end of the handle-forming portion of the arm 80a so that it slides longitudinally with respect thereto. The arm 80 is normally held in a position where the upturned end of the arm 80 a is out of the path of movement of the crank arm 72 by moving the handle member 88 in a direction which pivots the arm 80a in a clockwise direction against the force of the spring 84, so that the handle member 88 is brought opposite an enlarged end portion 860 of the slot 86 where the handle member 88 can be pushed forwardly into the same, where the pull of the spring 84 on the arm 80a holds the handle member snugly within the enlarged end 86a of the slot 86. The handle member 88 can be readily released from this position by slid- The same crank arm 72 used to impart movement to the slide transport arm 60 is also used to reciprocate the slide feeding member 29. Thus, the crank arm 72 also has a depending portion 73 which, during a part of the revolution of the crank arm, engages the depending flange 40 at the front end of the slide feeding member 29 and pulls the same forwardly against the force of the leaf spring 35. When the crank arm 72 has moved the slide feeding member 29 to its forward most position the slide engaging car 41 is clear of the forwardly facing edge of the slide pushed off the ledge 26a. As the crank arm 72 continues to rotate from the position which pushed the slide feeding member to its extreme position, the slide feeding member 29 will follow the crank arm until the slide feeding member 29 is held by the forward facing edge of the slide 8 on slide track 12. The slide engaging car 41 creates a pressure against the slidewhich urges the same against the guide shoulder 50 at the rear of the track 12.

As previously indicated, a slide at the slide projection station is normally moved to the stacking chute i9 beyond the slide projection station upon the movement of a new slide into position at the projection station. The latter slide makes edgeto-edge contact with the slide at the projection station so that, during a slide changing operation, the observer will not see distracting light streaks between slides as would be the case if there was a gap between adjacent slides moved into projection position. However, this method of moving slides into and out of projection position creates a problem with respect to the last slide delivered to the slide projection station since, as above indicated, there is no subsequent slide to push the last slide into the slide stacking chute 19. Thus, another feature of the invention is the provision of a last slide pushing member generally indicated by reference numeral shown in F IG. 6.

As best shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the last slide pusher member 100 is most advantageously an elongated arm which is pivotally mounted on the short pin 63 projecting upwardly from the top of the slide transport arm 60. The last slide pusher arm 100 has a short extension 1000 at the end thereof which is engaged by a spring 102 anchored at the other end to the slide engaging pin 62 of the slide transport arm 60. The spring 102 urges the last slide pusher arm 100 in a clockwise direction. When the slide transport arm is in the initial inoperative position, the last slide pusher arm 100 extends forwardly to a point spaced a short distance from the slide projection station 7 (FIG. 4). The last slide pusher arm 100 has a slide engaging extension 100:: which can move in a path which will engage the end of a slide at the slide projection station, and in a path which misses the slide at the slide projection station when the arm is pivoted counterclockwise.

When the slide transport arm 60 is in its initial inoperative position, the spring 102 holds the last slide pusher arm 100 in a position where an upwardly extending lug 100k on the side thereof engages the depending ear 41 on the slide feeding member 29. When a slide is delivered to the slide-receiving station at the end of the slide track 12 by the forward movement of the slide feeding member 29, the ear 4! thereof engages the lug 100!) of the arm 1 0 and pivots the arm 100 counterclockwise into a position where the front extension 1000 thereof will miss the slide at the slide projection station when the arm 100 is moved with the slide transport arm 63. As previously indicated, the slide feeding member 29 remains in its forward position until the slide involved has been delivered to the slide projection station. Thus, when a slide is pushed by the slide transport member 60 to the slide projection station, the slide at the projection station will not be moved into the stacking chute 19 by the last slide pusher arm 100 but will be so moved by the slide being fed to the slide projection station. However, when a slide is not delivered to the slide-receiving station of the slide track 12, the slide feeding member 29 will not remain in a forward position when the crank arm 72 pulls the same into its forward position, but will return to its initial rear extreme position so as the slide transport arm 60 is subsequently advanced toward the slide projection station the last slide pusher arm 100 will have returned to its extreme clockwise position where the slide engaging extension 1000 will engage the slide at the slide projection station and push the same into the stacking chute.

When the slide transport member 60 moves toward the slide projection station, a point is reached where the upwardly extendinglug 10% on the last slide pusher arm 100 will slide off of the depending ear 41 of the slide feeding member 29. In such case, the spring 102 would in the absence of the feature of the invention to be described, pull the end of the arm 100 against the edge of a slide being moved toward the slide projection station. If the slide is made of cardboard, as in the case of most slides processed in the United States, the resultant pressure of the arm 100 on the slide could readily damage the slide. To prevent the last slide pusher arm 100 from being pulled against the edge of a slide being moved to the projection station or at the projection station, a guide track 103 (FIG. 4) is formed in the top wall 26 of the housing body 2a into which a depending pin 100d on the arm 100 passes as the lug 10017 slides off the ear 41. The pin 100d then follows the track 103 which holds the last slide pusher arm 100 in its extreme counterclockwise position where it will not engage the edge of a slide being moved toward the slide projection station.

The upper wall 26 of the housing body has a second track 105 into which the depending pin 100d extends when the last slide pusher am 100 is urged by the spring 102 in its clockwise direction in the absence of a slide at the slide receiving station of the slide track 12.

It should be appreciated that the present invention has provided an extremely simply constructed, inexpensive and reliable means for feeding slides one at a time from a stack of slides onto a track.

It should be understood that numerous modifications may be made in the preferred form of the invention described above without deviating from the broader aspects thereof.

I claim:

1. In a slide projector having means for supporting a vertically extending stack of slides arranged in parallel face-to-face relation, said slide support means including a retaining ledge positioned to extend transversely of the stack of slides at the rear end portion of the stack of slides, a slide-receiving track below said ledge and having a slide-receiving end for receiving the entire extent of the first slide in said stack after it is pushed beyond said ledge, slide feeding means mounted for reciprocating movement and having a forwardly facing slide engaging portion which initially moves forwardly along and then beyond said ledge in the plane of the first slide remaining in the stack for engaging the rear edge of only the first slide in the stack and moving the same forwardly to a point where it clears the end of the ledge, abutment means at the front margin of the slide-receiving end of said slide-receiving track and forming an abutment for the front edge of the second slide in the stack to prevent the second slide in the stack from moving with said first slide to a degree where it can clear said ledge and which enable said first slide to be pushed fully beneath said abutment means after the first slide has cleared said ledge, the improvement in said slide feeding means comprising: catcher lip-forming and slide pushing means below and immediately in front of said forwardly facing slide engaging portion thereof for supporting the dropping rear end portion of a slide pushed off of said ledge thereby and for continuing to push against the rear edge of the slide until it is fully positioned beneath said abutment means, the rear end portion of the slide fully resting upon said slide-receiving track when the slide feeding means returns to its initial position.

2. The projector of claim 1 wherein said catcher lip-forming and slide pushing means is an angle member having rear wall means depending from said slide feeding means and horizontally extending wall means extending forwardly from said rear wall means.

3. The projector of claim 1 wherein said abutment means includes freely rotatable spherical ball means positioned to receive said first slide between the ball means and the track, the radius of said sphencal ball means being greater than the thickest slide to be accommodated in said stack, and resilient means for normally urging said spherical ball means against said track, the spherical ball means being raised from the track by the first slide in the stack and the resilient urged spherical ball means preventing the next slide in the stack from moving between the spherical ball means and said track. 

1. In a slide projector having means for supporting a vertically extending stack of slides arranged in parallel face-to-face relation, said slide support means including a retaining ledge positioned to extend transversely of the stack of slides at the rear end portion of the stack of slides, a slide-receiving track below said ledge and having a slide-receiving end for receiving the entire extent of the first slide in said stack after it is pushed beyond said ledge, slide feeding means mounted for reciprocating movement and having a forwardly facing slide engaging portion which initially moves forwardly along and then beyond said ledge in the plane of the first slide remaining in the stack for engaging the rear edge of only the first slide in the stack and moving the same forwardly to a point where it clears the end of the ledge, abutment means at the front margin of the slide-receiving end of said slide-receiving track and forming an abutment for the front edge of the second slide in the stack to prevent the second slide in the stack from moving with said first slide to a degree where it can clear said ledge and which enable said first slide to be pushed fully beneath said abutment means after the first slide has cleared said ledge, the improvement in said slide feeding means comprising: catcher lipforming and slide pushing means below and immediately in front of said forwardly facing slide engaging portion thereof for supporting the dropping rear end portion of a slide pushed off of said ledge thereby and for continuing to push against the rear edge of the slide until it is fully positioned beneath said abutment means, the rear end portion of the slide fully resting upon said slide-receiving track when the slide feeding means returns to its initial position.
 2. The projector of claim 1 wherein said catcher lip-forming and slide pushing means is an angle member having rear wall means depending from said slide feeding means and horizontally extending wall means extending forwardly from said rear wall means.
 3. The projector of claim 1 wherein said abutment means includes freely rotatable spherical ball means positioned to receive said first slide between the ball means and the track, the radius of said spherical ball means being greater than the thickest slide to be accommodated in said stack, and resilient means for normalLy urging said spherical ball means against said track, the spherical ball means being raised from the track by the first slide in the stack and the resilient urged spherical ball means preventing the next slide in the stack from moving between the spherical ball means and said track. 